Are you organising a fundraising event? Perhaps for a good cause or a charity? There’s the venue, facilities, food and drinks, entertainment, promotion etc. which demand your time and attention. It can be very time consuming to get the detailed planning right and sometimes even stressful to manage all the issues which arise. You want the booking and ticketing system to be easy and not something which will take a lot of your time.
Why use an Event Booking System
- It enables you to promote your event more widely, using the power and reach of the Internet and social media.
- People your message reach can use the booking engine to find out more about the event, why they should attend it, when it is on, and if there are still places available.
- Attendees can book their tickets when it suits them, even during the night or at weekends.
- Entry to the event is streamlined and with fewer delays.
- Less cash handling at the door reduces the chances of: errors, giving incorrect change, loss of cash and theft. It also means less time counting cash.
Fundraising Event Booking Systems From the Organiser’s Perspective
An organiser of a fundraising event has certain important requirements when it comes to the booking system which their attendees will use to book their attendance and pay for their tickets.
Fast and easy to Setup
A fundraising event organiser has a lot of issues to deal with, and the booking/ticketing system should not be a big issue, nor should it require much time or attention. Setting up the event in the booking system should be a matter of minutes. It should have an easily navigable interface, and cloud-based so that it can be accessed from anywhere.
Low Cost
An important factor in booking system selection is cost. After all, the purpose of the event is to raise funds, so having to pay excessive booking fees doesn’t make sense. It is important to do a cost comparison when deciding which booking engine to use. There are wide variations in fees and some booking systems have fee structures which are not suited to one-off events.
Features you Need
Important features from the event organiser’s perspective include:
- Ease of event setup (event title, description, images/photos, where and when it is taking place.)
- The ability to configure multiple ticket types (e.g. standard/full-price, with reduced ticket prices for students, children, retired etc.)
- Event booking widget: the ability to place a small piece of code onto any web page, which turns that web page into a booking form for the event. The Booking Craft event booking widget can show event descriptions, images and the booking form.
- Setting up your payment method. This is how your attendees will pay you for their tickets. Ideally, you want a system which accepts PayPal, as well as credit and debit cards. You also want the funds to go to your PayPal or bank account, and not get stuck in the booking company’s system for a long period of time.
- Ability to specify the event capacity, that is, the maximum number of tickets which can be sold
- At-a-glance view of the number of bookings/tickets sold and the remaining unsold capacity
- Ability to export the bookings to a spreadsheet for further analysis or for printing
Fundraising Event Booking Systems From the Attendee’s Perspective
You will spend a lot of time trying to market, advertise and promote your fundraising event to your target audience. When you get your message across and a prospective attendee wants to find out more, the booking engine should make it easy for them to click on a link which you send them, perhaps via an e-mail, a website, or a social media or blog post. They should then find information about your event, why they should support it and attend, and the ability to book their attendance. Here’s a list of some important features of the booking system which will be important for the attendee and which, if done well, will reduce the chances of that attendee not completing the booking process.
Features your Attendees Need
- Access to the event information and booking engine anytime, anywhere. If the prospective attendee sees your message late at night, then don’t make them wait until office hours the next working day before they can make their booking. The booking engine should enable them to make their booking and pay for their ticket when it suits them.
- Easy to book using mobile, tablet and desktop computers.
- The booking system should send the attendee a confirmation e-mail with the event details after the booking is made. This reassures the attendee that the booking has been successful. For certain event types, the system should be able to send an e-ticket which can be presented by the attendee for scanning/checking when entering the event venue.
Conclusion
The main purpose of a fundraiser is to raise money. Don’t choose a booking system whose booking fees take a significant slice from the money raised. The system has to be cost efficient, easy to use and quick to set up.. As an event organiser, your attention needs to be on planning the event and promoting it so that all of the tickets are sold. The booking system makes your job easier, in terms of booking acceptance, booking management and reduced cash handling. For the attendees it enables them to book at a time which suits them, and facilitates a quicker and more streamlined entry to the event. Payment for tickets is also secure, with payment card details not having to be disclosed in an insecure way.
If you are organising a fundraising event, why not try Booking Craft. Take a Test Drive
Contact us if you have any questions.